Doctor's Orders
by Kasanatta
Summary: AU, KakaIru. When Iruka comes down with a mysterious illness and has to take time off from teaching, he finally makes himself go see a doctor. And Kakashi is one of the best, even if he does have a habit of flirting with his patients.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Alright, time for an AU! :D We aren't sure how many chapters this will end up having, but there will be a second one at the very least. We love reviews, so if you like it, tell us!

Disclaimer: We don't own anything~

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Kakashi didn't look up from the book he was reading until he reached his destination, marking his place before closing it and glancing up. "Sakura, did those test results I asked you about come back yet?"

"They did, but..." Sakura trailed off as she scanned the results for what seemed like the 30th time. "Something is off. Take a look." She handed the clipboard, decorated in child's stickers, over to the man.

Kakashi hummed a little as his eyes quickly scanned over the papers. "Well it's not what we originally thought, that's for sure. There's no way he just has the flu. We need to run a few more tests."

"Would you like me to have the receptionist call Mr. Umino and set up another appointment?"

"Yes. And do me a favor, make sure I'll be the one seeing him."

"Yes sir." Sakura gave the doctor a quick bow before reclaiming the chart and making her way to the reception desk. Kakashi grinned a little as he walked off and went back to reading. It was annoying that his diagnosis had been wrong, but he didn't mind getting to see a cute patient again. The woman at the reception desk gave Sakura a small smile.

"Need something?"

"Yeah." She dropped the chart on the desk and laughed a little when the receptionist jumped. "Dr. Hatake was actually wrong. He wants this patient to come in again as soon as possible. Can you make any room on the schedule? Thanks, Hinata," she added, walking away before the timid woman got a chance to answer. Hinata nodded, even though Sakura had already made it halfway across the room by then, before looking at the chart and dialing the contact number.

Iruka Umino, groggy from his head cold, knocked a few things off the nightstand attempting to get a hand on his phone. "Hello?" He finally managed after getting the device up to his ear and clearing his throat. Which, incidentally, had been very painful to do recently.

Hinata cleared her own throat as well, reminding herself to speak up. "Hello, is this Iruka Umino?"

Blinking a few times, Iruka sat up, trying to clear the fog of sleep from his head. "Yes."

"Dr. Hatake would like you to come back for a follow-up appointment. Your tests are showing different results than he expected."

"Oh..." Iruka wasn't sure how he should take the news. It definitely worried him a little. "When should I come back?"

"When are you free? I can try to work you into the schedule sometime that's convenient for you."

"Well I took some time off work so I don't get the kids I teach sick. So any time is fine for me right now." Iruka put his hand over the receiver as he went into another coughing fit. He'd lost count how many he'd already had today.

Hinata quietly waited for the coughing to stop before speaking. "Would you prefer it to be tomorrow or this afternoon?"

Iruka chewed his lip as he looked at the flecks of blood left on his hand once the coughing had receded. "Th-this afternoon if at all possible."

"Could you make it here at 3:00?"

"Um, what time is it now?" He felt silly for asking, but he wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep.

"It's almost 2:00, sir."

"Oh!" Iruka nearly flew out of bed, grabbing some clothes that he hoped were clean off of a chair. "I can make it!"

Hinata jumped at the sudden change in the volume of Iruka's voice. "I-I can fit you in later if that's too soon, really."

"No, sorry. I can make it, thank you for calling me." Rifling through drawers he found a brush and ran it through his tangled hair a few times before holding the phone between his cheek and shoulder to put his up in a high ponytail.

"You're welcome. Just come to the reception desk when you get here, you won't need to wait."

"Alright, thank you." He hung up and quickly finished getting ready, and eventually made it to the hospital with five minutes to spare. He remembered what the soft-spoken receptionist told him and went straight to the front desk. "I'm Iruka Umino, I had an appointment at 3?"

"Go to the first room down that hall," Hinata said, pointing him in the right direction. "Dr. Hatake should be with you in just a few minutes."

He nodded, recognizing the voice as belonging to the girl he spoke on the phone with. He gave her a quick smile before going into the room she had directed him to. It was the same room he had been in during his last visit. He took a seat on the bed, cringing at the sound of the paper that crinkled whenever he moved.

As the receptionist had predicted, Kakashi walked into the room not long after Iruka had gotten himself situated. "Mr. Umino. Sorry you had to come back so soon."

"Oh, no, it's no problem. But the woman who called said that you didn't think I had the flu anymore?"

"No," Kakashi replied, sitting in the chair near the bed. "It's not the flu. The problem is I don't know what it actually is. I need to run more tests."

"Oh..." Iruka felt a bit uneasy knowing that even a doctor had no idea what was wrong with him. "What kind of tests?"

"Hey, don't worry, I'll take good care of you," Kakashi said with a grin, hoping it would help the man calm down. "Nothing awful. I'll need to take some blood samples."

Iruka fought down a blush. Was his doctor _flirting_ with him? He pushed the thought out of his mind, deciding he was probably just delusional from the fever. "Alright."

Smirking a little at the faint blush on Iruka's face, Kakashi pushed the man's sleeve up and rubbed disinfectant on his arm. "Needles don't bother you?"

Iruka instantly looked away. Of course needles bothered him! "N-no."

Kakashi couldn't help laughing as he got out the needle. "Well how about you close your eyes anyway, just in case? Keep your arm relaxed."

"O-okay, sure." Iruka squeezed his eyes shut and hoped he was relaxed enough. He found that he was even more terrified with his eyes closed. He was more sensitive to the doctor's touch, and much more unaware of what was going on around him.

Kakashi gently touched the man's arm before sliding the needle in, and it was all over in a matter of seconds. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Awful! It was positively awful. Iruka could just feel the blood draining from his arm, and thinking about it only made it worse. He was pale, and his head spun as he tried to get a grip.

Great. Hopefully this guy wasn't a fainter. "Hey, talk to me."

Iruka opened his eyes and focused on the doctor's too close face. "H-huh?"

"Don't pass out on me. Breathe steadily."

"I-I won't." He chewed on his lip and shivered. The room felt colder than before. Rubbing his arms, he started to feel a little better than before.

Kakashi forced himself not to laugh. He'd seen little kids deal with getting blood taken better than this. "Lay down if you need to."

Iruka nodded and laid back onto the bed, sighing as the nausea left him. "So what will the blood tests tell you?"

Turning his back on Iruka for a moment, Kakashi prepared the blood to be sent off. "I just want to see if I can find anything abnormal. I can figure out a plan of action from there, and we'll get you healthy again."

"Okay, that sounds great." Iruka let his eyes slide closed as he listened to the quiet shuffling noises coming from the doctor's direction.

"I'm sure it does," Kakashi replied with a laugh. "You feeling any better now?"

"Yeah, a lot." Feeling well enough to sit up, Iruka looked at the doctor. "I feel terrible about this," He said as he laughed and rubbed the scar across his nose, "but I can't seem to recall your name."

"Dr. Hatake. Just call me Kakashi." Watching Iruka's actions made his own scar itch a little, but he managed to will it away. "I'm glad you feel better."

He nodded and smiled. "Alright Kakashi, um, when should I expect another call from you?"

"Probably tomorrow. Would you mind if I just called you myself instead of having the receptionist do it?"

"Hm? No, I don't mind." Was he that sick? He must've been if Kakashi was going to personally call him, right?

"Great," Kakashi replied with a smile. He grabbed the man's hand and opened a pen, scribbling a phone number onto his palm. "This is my cell number. Call me if you think you're getting worse, alright?" Okay, maybe he was being a _tiny_ bit too forward this time.

Iruka couldn't stop the blush this time. Was this really happening? An incredibly handsome (and most likely wealthy) doctor had just given him, the poor teacher, his phone number. That's it; he was hallucinating. He was still at home lying in bed, dreaming of the doctor whom he'd been fantasizing about since he'd first gone in for a check up.

Kakashi watched the man's reaction, holding onto his hand a little longer than necessary before releasing it. Alright, apparently forward was good. In that case, a little teasing couldn't hurt, either. "Starting to get a fever? Your face is pretty red."

Feeling his face get hotter, he rapidly shook his head. "N-no, I'm fine." He got up from the bed and stood there awkwardly for a moment, not sure of what to say.

"Well alright. Go home and get some rest."

Iruka nodded and left the small examination room. He glanced at his hand a number of times before getting into his car and making the short drive back to his apartment. Kakashi waited until Iruka was out of sight before tracking down Sakura and tapping the young nurse on the shoulder.

Giggling obnoxiously at something the new intern, Sasuke, had said, Sakura turned to look at Kakashi. "So, how'd it go?"

"Depends on if you mean the appointment or the flirting," he said with a shrug. "I got a blood sample, so hopefully we can see what the problem is after more testing."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You know it's against regulation to do that with the patients." She gave him a sly grin. "How'd it go anyway?"

Kakashi grinned back, laughing a little. "You say that like I follow all the other regulations. It went pretty well, I'd say. His face was as red as a tomato by the time he left."

"Aw, how cute. You know he's an elementary school teacher right? You should take it easy on him."

"I know he is. But that's no reason to go easy on him. I figure he's gotta be pretty tough to deal with all those kids every week."

"Hm, I suppose you're right." Giggling, she poked the doctor in the side. "But that's not what I meant by easy." She walked off, following Sasuke, leaving Kakashi with a vague idea of what she had meant.

Not that Kakashi spent too much time thinking about it, anyway. He took care of the rest of his appointments that day fairly easily, since none of them really required much of his attention. Iruka, however, was on his mind most of the time, and not just because he was cute. It had been a long time since Kakashi had been wrong about a patient's diagnosis, and it bugged him to no end.

Iruka was bored out of his mind, he hated not being at work, but on the other hand he didn't want to risk the health of his young students. Nothing was on television, and there was nothing that looked good in the fridge. If his mysterious illness didn't kill him surely it would be boredom. It got him thinking though. Just how sick was he? Dr. Hatake had seemed pretty concerned with the fact that he didn't know right off what was wrong with him. He pushed it to the back of his mind and picked up his phone."Naruto?" Apparently he had fallen asleep again, because there was a text message on his phone from the blond boy from about fifteen minutes ago. Checking it, he nearly jumped out of bed. Naruto was on his way over! He'd be here any minute! He hastily put on a pair of comfortable sleeping pants, and a light cotton shirt. His hair was put up into a messy ponytail, pieces of hair hanging in his face. He picked up as best he could, the initial burst of energy quickly leaving him as he slumped onto the couch.

Naruto knocked on the door, his arms almost completely full instant ramen cups. He was gonna help his teacher feel better whether he liked it or not! "Hey! Are you up yet?"

Picking himself up from the couch, Iruka made it over to the door, opening it and offering Naruto a tired smile. "Hey, let me help you with that." He grabbed a number of the ramen cups, being careful not the drop them. Naruto really didn't need to bring so much. Setting them on the counter he watched Naruto do the same. "You know, this really isn't necessary, I'm fine, Naruto." He ruffled the boy's hair and took a seat at the table.

"It was too! Did you find out what's wrong yet?" Naruto put the remaining cups on the counter, crossing his arms. "How many of these do you want? Just one for now?"

Iruka laughed at the stern face the usually smiling boy gave him. "Just one." He really needed to stop thinking of Naruto as a boy. He was a man now, with a job as an intern at the local hospital. "No, they're not sure yet. Dr. Hatake took a blood sample and said he would call as soon as he found anything out."

Naruto blinked as he filled the cup with water and put it in the microwave. "That perv is your doctor? He's supposed to never be wrong."

Iruka blushed. He couldn't say Naruto wasn't right, but he wasn't about to agree and risk being questioned about it. "He seemed pretty upset about it, he said that he would know for sure soon though." He sighed as he watched the cup turn inside the microwave.

"He's kinda weird, but he's a good doctor. I bet he'll have it figured out by the time he calls you," Naruto replied as he got the cup out and stirred it before setting it down in front of Iruka.

Getting a spoonful of noodles, he blew on it carefully. He and Naruto had always loved ramen, it was what the had for lunch nearly everyday. He made quick work of the cup before throwing it away and smiling at the blond. "Thanks again for doing this for me."

"You know I don't mind. I just want you to get better soon."

Iruka laughed and gave him a quick hug. "You better go before you catch this bug."

Naruto returned the hug, pouting a little. "Fine. Hurry and get better."

"Okay, I will. Have fun at work." Iruka liked to tease the boy since he heard about Sasuke, the 'incredibly attractive, yet still an asshole of an intern.'

"Better not be implying something. See you later." Naruto laughed and lightly punched Iruka's arm before going back to his car and driving to the hospital. After glancing at his watch, he hurried in, hoping no one noticed he was a little late.

Iruka smiled and rubbed his arm as he watched Naruto leave. He grown up so much since he was a little ten year old kid. He remembered that year so well. It was Iruka's first year of teaching, and of course he would end up with the biggest trouble maker in school. Naruto didn't cut him any breaks. They eventually made a truce and since then Iruka had always watched out for went back to his bedroom and picked up the piece of paper he had written Dr. Hatake's number on before punching the numbers into his cell phone.

Kakashi barely glanced up from the test results he was holding to pick up his phone and answer it, actually sounding serious for once. "Hello?"

"Hello Dr. Hatake, it's Iruka. I was just calling to see if you had the results of my blood test, I hope I'm not being a pest." He took a seat on the bed and scratched his nose, feeling embarrassed even over the phone.

"Iruka, I'm glad you called. I want you to come back to the hospital as soon as you can."

"Hm? Like right this second?" He was confused. Why was Dr. Hatake sounding so urgent?

"If you can." Kakashi scanned over the paper again, shaking his head. "I don't know exactly what's wrong. I've never seen this happen before."

"Oh...is it bad?" He didn't know? Well that didn't exactly put Iruka at ease.

Kakashi paused for a moment, wondering exactly what to say. "It might be," he finally replied, laying the test results down. "I don't know for sure. I want to keep an eye on you."

"Okay...I'm not feeling too great...do doctors still make house calls?" Iruka felt almost ridiculous asking such a thing, but he figured since Kakashi was being so straight forward he could be too.

"I can come over if you want. It'll be about half an hour. Are you resting?"

"Yeah, I've been in bed most of the day. My friend Naruto came by with ramen earlier. Do you happen to know him? He's a nursing intern at the hospital."

"Good, you should stay in bed for a while. And yeah, I know him. I didn't know you two were friends." Kakashi went out to his car, holding his phone up with his shoulder as he started the drive to Iruka's house. "I'm glad someone's taking care of you."

"He's a really sweet kid when you get to know him, I used to be his teacher. I live in apartment 145. Do you need directions?"

"Is that so? I've been hearing a few different things about him. Nah, I have your address on file. I'm on my way now."

"Oh, alright. What have you heard about him? Has he been making trouble?" Feeling light-headed again, Iruka laid back on to his bed.

"Not really. One of the new interns is pretty annoyed with him, though." Kakashi managed to arrive a little faster than he expected and parked his car outside the apartment building before heading inside and up to the floor Iruka's apartment was on. "Hey, I'm here."

"Already? Okay." Iruka wondered then just what kind of car Kakashi drove. Was he one of those rich doctors who drove sports car? He ended his daydream about Kakashi's life just as he opened the door. He smiled. "Come in."

Kakashi ended the call and put his phone back into his pocket, grinning a little. "Nice to see you again."

That grin was just too much, Iruka felt his face get hot as incredibly erotic images and thoughts filled his head. He was not that kind of person! He furiously tried to push away the ideas and focused on the handsome man in front of him. "S-so...what did we need to talk about?" He continued his mental scolding as he tried to pay more attention to what Kakashi was saying, and less about the way his lips looked as he spoke.

"I really have no idea what's wrong. Sorry if that's not too reassuring, but like I said, I want to keep an eye on you for any changes. I'll get you healthy again. Mind if I sit down?"

"Of course! Sorry, please come in, I'm not really thinking straight right now." Iruka gave the couch a quick once over, pleased that it was clutter free.

Kakashi sat down and couldn't stop himself from continuing to grin a little. "Don't worry about it. You have a pretty nice place."

Iruka sat down next to the doctor, making sure there was still a good bit of room between them. "Thanks, it's usually not this dirty. I just haven't felt up to cleaning you know?"

"Doesn't look dirty to me. And I'm not going to bite you, you know. Well, unless you ask," Kakashi replied with a laugh.

Again, Iruka felt his face heat up. Why did he have to say things like that? Did he just have no clue about innuendo, or was he completely aware of what he was doing? If he was why would he be doing it with him of all people? "Uh..." He hand no idea what to say to that, what_ could_ he even say?

"Whatever you have, it doesn't seem contagious. You could sit a little closer."

Well..." Iruka chewed his lower lip as he scooted closer to the doctor, tensing up briefly when their thighs connected. He wondered what in the world he was doing. Well, he was obviously flirting back with his doctor, but _why_ was the real question.

Kakashi laughed, putting his arm around Iruka's shoulders. "Too forward?"

"I uh...I just..." He fidgeted with his hands, feeling incredibly awkward. When was the last time he'd even been in a relationship? Oh yeah, that time with _Mizuki_. Too bad he had to end up being a creep that preyed on elementary students. Iruka had felt guilty for months afterward, feeling like he was at fault for not realizing that Mizuki was that kind of person. Ever since then, he'd really never been very interested in dating, and since no one had taken an interest in him until now he hadn't even thought about it.

"You can just tell me to stop, you know."

"I don't know if I want you to..." He felt like slapping himself, he could only imagine how stupid he had just sounded. 'Seriously Iruka? Come on, you couldn't come up with anything better than that? He's gonna think you're a fifteen year old girl.'

"How about you tell me what you _do_ want," Kakashi asked, pulling him closer.

Iruka blushed furiously. At this close proximity he could practically smell Kakashi. He couldn't say that he didn't like the man's scent, it sent chills down his spine as the doctor's breath brushed against his cheek. He tried to think of something clever, or even sexy to say, but all that came out was, "I-I dunno."

"Guess I'll just take the lead, then," Kakashi said with a shrug before turning Iruka's face towards him and pressing their lips together.

Iruka's hair practically stood on end. He kissed back without any hesitation, the timidness slowly leaving him. The man was obviously very experienced with the way he moved his lips. Iruka just tried to keep up as the kiss became more heated.

Now that he was sure Iruka didn't mind his advances, there was no way Kakashi was about to hold back. He was barely stopping himself from jumping the man, but he managed to settle for pushing his shirt up and running one of his hands up Iruka's stomach and chest.

Shuddering at the contact, Iruka pressed even closer to the man. Was it wrong to be intimate with your doctor? He didn't quite care at the moment as he slid his arms around Kakashi's neck, loving the feel of his soft hair against his arms. He nearly jumped when the ring of a cell phone went off. He broke the kiss to look down towards Kakashi's pocket. "Are you gonna get that?" Iruka half hoped that he wouldn't answer, but his hopes were dashed when Kakashi took out the phone and flipped it open in one fluid motion.

It never failed, someone _always_ had to call him at the worst times. He tried his best not to sound impatient as he answered. "Hello?"

Iruka only then noticed that he was nearly panting, he felt hot all over, and any place that Kakashi had laid his hands on pleasantly tingled. He listened as a rather dramatic voice was heard over the phone, Iruka could practically _hear _the man striking a pose as he spoke. Whatever the call was about, it must've been important with the way Kakashi's one visible eyebrow furrowed. Iruka had never stopped to wonder why Kakashi covered that eye. Was he blind, injured, was it missing? He figured it was none of his business, and wasn't planning on asking. He waited patiently for the conversation to finish as he watched the man.

"Somehow you always manage to mess things up in ways I never thought were possible," he muttered, shaking his head. "I'll be there soon, just leave the computer alone." Kakashi didn't bother saying goodbye before hanging up and giving Iruka an apologetic grin. "I really have to go for now. Some other time?"

Iruka blushed and rubbed the scar on his nose in embarrassment. "Um, sure." He wasn't sure what the strange feeling of disappointment was that was filling up his chest, but he knew that he didn't want Kakashi to leave. "When can I see you again? And when will you know what's wrong with me?"

"You'll see me tomorrow, if that's okay. I still want to keep an eye on you. And I don't know when I'll have it figured out, but I won't stop trying until I do."

"Well alright, tomorrow it is then." He gave Kakashi a polite smile as he walked him to the door.

"Remember to get plenty of rest," Kakashi said, sounding just a little more serious as he walked out, waving over his shoulder. "See you later."

Iruka gave a small wave and felt at twitch at the corner of his lips. That man was really something else, he was really looking forward to the next time he would see the doctor. He headed back to the bedroom and sat on the bed. What was he supposed to do now? He considered cleaning up, but feeling another wave of nausea hit him he decided against him.


	2. Chapter 2

Kakashi sighed as he took a sip from his fourth cup of coffee. He hadn't slept at all that night, and it was already getting close to 3:00, but he just _knew _he was getting closer to figuring out what could be wrong with Iruka. He still couldn't decide if he was taking so much initiative in this because of his pride as a doctor or because he really liked the man, but that could wait until later.

He continued scrolling through the huge database of illnesses, making a note of every one that seemed even close to Iruka's symptoms, but even that left him with a pretty scrawny list, with nothing that stuck out to him as being a big possibility. He snorted a little as he scrolled past quite a few results for STDs, but that didn't stop him from jotting down a note just in case. Honestly, he was getting desperate to figure out what was wrong so he could finally figure out how to _fix_ it.

Finally, one result caught his eye. It listed every symptom he'd seen in Iruka so far, although it seemed to be very rare. "Sabia virus," he muttered to himself. "Could this really be it?" He would've kicked himself if he wasn't so tired. If this Sabia virus was really what was messing Iruka up, he was in danger of getting it just from being around him, let alone having his tongue halfway down the other man's throat. After a little more research, he needed to find a way to fix this, and _fast_. A lot more searching eventually brought him to a medication called Ribavirin. Alright, he could order it, but how long would it take to arrive? It took a long time to start working, so he needed it as soon as possible. Still, all he could do was put a rush order in and hope it got there soon, so that was exactly what he did. Then, after pouring out the rest of his coffee, he finally crawled into bed as he reminded himself to call Iruka first thing in the morning.

* * *

"Sasuke, give me that chart back. Now." Naruto had barely had to talk to the new intern since he had gotten there, but he was already sick of it. He was so annoying!

"As nurse it's your job to inform me of things, and since you're too incompetent to actually verbalize any of this, I need to read the chart." Sasuke, an intern at the hospital for almost six months now, couldn't stand the nurse, Naruto Uzumaki, the intern's name just left a bad taste in his mouth. He treated the profession like it was all a game. He couldn't stand people like him, so of course he was paired with the blonde ignoramus.

"You didn't even give me a chance to say anything, asshole!" And people actually _liked _this guy? Naruto would never understand that.

"Because you're way too slow. Now, why don't you get the IV set up before I have to do everything myself, _nurse_." Sasuke mentally smirked as he watched the blond's reaction.

Naruto growled, gritting his teeth to stop himself from yelling any more as he set up the IV. The patients were more important than this jerk. He could do this. Hopefully.

"Alright, now that you've managed to accomplish that, let's see if you can handle the rest." Sasuke crossed his arms as he watched Naruto work stiffly.

"Shut _up_. I can handle this patient, so just go away."

"I'm here to supervise you and make sure you don't screw everything up. You're a C ranked nurse at best." He actually hated doing this, he'd outshined Kakashi at diagnosing their last patient, and so this was basically punishment from the asshole. If Kakashi wasn't so busy focusing on one patient, Sasuke wouldn't have had to correct him.

"C ranked? I've been here longer than you have!" Okay, so maybe he couldn't do this. Whatever, maybe if he made a big enough scene, he could get reassigned to someone else.

"Exactly, and I'm already far above you. You're pathetic, really." Sasuke shared the same thoughts as Naruto, and he wasn't about to back down.

"Bastard!" There was no way he was getting away with that! Naruto tackled him without another thought and grabbed two fistfuls of his hair, yanking on it.

Growling, Sasuke shoved back. He rolled the boy over, straddling his waist and landing a solid punch to his face. He could barely hear the shouts of the patient above their own.

Naruto hissed in pain as he threw a few punches of his own and tried to kick the taller boy off of him. "Stupid jerk!"

"Idiot!" he shouted back at the blonde, never ceasing in the struggle until he was roughly pulled back and away from the kicking blonde.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, holding Sasuke back as Naruto scrambled to his feet. "What's _wrong _with you two?""He started it, Dr. Hatake!"

"He just incompetent, Dr. Hatake. He's completely out of control, and unwilling to take direction from a superior." He pulled himself away from Kakashi a little rougher than necessary.

"That's enough. You're both spoiled brats, so cut it out. You'll be working together until you get along. Got it?""But...ugh! Whatever!"

Sasuke just crossed his arms and gave Kakashi that signature look of annoyance.

"If either of you don't like it, you can quit right now."Naruto glared at Sasuke, crossing his arms as well. "I'm not quitting because of _him_."

"He's hardly worth risking my job over, don't you have a patient to fu- I mean, tend to?" He tried not to smirk, hoping Kakashi would think it was just a slip of the tongue, but he knew that Kakashi knew better.

"Watch it, Sasuke. I'd hate to have to call your brother." Usually Kakashi reserved that particular threat for when he was in a really bad mood, but he didn't feel like dealing with any attitude."Well you just keep being a jerk, I'm gonna go do my job!" Naruto stomped off into a patient's room, leaving the two alone.

Sasuke froze, instantly losing all his fight. He bowed his head, keeping his gaze to the floor. "Yes sir."

"Now get back to work." He hated to admit it, but it was almost satisfying to be able to stop the cocky intern dead in his tracks.

Sasuke nodded and left the room. He hated feeling so weak, but...Itachi tended to do that to people. His shift would be over soon anyway, and said brother would be there to pick him up.

As soon as Sasuke was out of sight, Kakashi headed back to his own work; the research he had been doing on Iruka's illness.

Sasuke easily wrapped up the last few appointments of the day before tidying up the exam room, luckily he hadn't seen even a hint of Naruto the rest of the day.

Despite Kakashi's order to work together, Naruto managed to avoid Sasuke the rest of the afternoon. The one person Sasuke couldn't avoid, however, was there to pick him up as soon as his shift ended. "Sasuke. Are you ready to go?"

Looking over his shoulder at his brother Sasuke greeted him. "Yes Itachi, I'm just finishing up my reports." He entered in the last few details of the day before logging out and shutting down the computer.

"Good. You're driving home today." Itachi walked out and got back in the car, not bothering to wait for his little brother's response.

Sasuke nearly grinned as he walked out into the parking lot. It was a rare occasion when Itachi let him drive. Sasuke slid into the driver's seat of the nearly brand new (they'd purchased the car only six months prior) steel blue Porsche Panarema.

"And don't get any scratches on the car," he added as his younger brother got into the driver's seat.

Sasuke chose to ignore his brother as he engaged the push start button of the car, actually grinning when he heard the engine roar to life. The trip home went by far too quickly as the car practically glided down the interstate, Sasuke almost forgot who was in the passenger seat, almost.

Itachi didn't talk much on the way home, but he did actually compliment Sasuke's driving as he got out of the car. As much of a compliment as anyone could get from Itachi, anyway.

"I've been driving for a while now, Itachi, you'd think I could handle it by now." His brother treated him like some kind of inept child. He wouldn't let him go alone anywhere, he wasn't allowed to live in the dorms when he attended college, he wasn't even allowed to date. Not that Sasuke was really interested in that anyway.

"I'm sure you remember what happened when you first got your license."

"It wasn't my fault, it was raining and it was dark." Itachi always had to bring_ that _up. Just when he would finally forget about it Itachi would always remind him of it.

"Take responsibility for your mistakes." Itachi unlocked the front door and stepped inside, turning on the lights. "You've never been very good at that."

Itachi knew just how to brighten up Sasuke's day. At the risk of Itachi crushing him even further Sasuke went straight to his room, closing his door. He would've locked it, if Itachi had let him have a lock that is.

Letting out and annoyed sigh, Itachi went to the kitchen to start making dinner. "I know it's nice to be good at something, but pick something besides sulking all day."

Laying down, Sasuke pulled his pillow over his head. If he could work 24/7, he would. It was half the reason he wanted to be a doctor, long hours with the possibility of working over or being called in. Constant bashing against your every being could really wear a person down.

"Sasuke. You had better answer me."

Ignoring his brother against his better judgment, Sasuke stayed silent. He hadn't really made Itachi mad in a while. He felt like pushing his luck.

"You have five seconds to say something before I come in there."

He chewed his lip, wondering how angry Itachi would be if he really had to come upstairs and get him. He felt his stomach twist, but he ignored it and the little voice in his head that screamed 'Get up!' He was going to stand up to Itachi.

"Alright Sasuke, have it your way." Itachi turned the stove off and started up the stairs, taking his time. If he didn't hurry, he wouldn't even have to do any work; Sasuke would be scared enough to apologize the second he made it to his bedroom.

His heart raced as he heard Itachi slowly climb the stairs. What would he do? He gripped the sheets tightly and forced himself to lay still. The thought of playing dead crossed his mind, and he would've laughed if he wasn't so terrified.

Finally, after making the walk as torturously slow as possible, Itachi walked into the bedroom, giving Sasuke a disappointed look. "Look at yourself."

"Just...leave me alone Itachi." Maybe if he pleaded enough Itachi would just leave him alone for the night.

"You're acting like a petulant child. How do you think I should punish you?"

That was it, he wasn't gonna take it anymore. Sitting up in his bed, he set his gaze on Itachi. "How about by leaving me alone for once?"

"That would be a punishment, wouldn't it? Seeing as how you can't do _anything _for yourself." Narrowing his eyes, Itachi grabbed his brother's hair and yanked him to his feet. "Who's been taking care of you since our parents died? Hm?"

Sasuke yelped and grabbed Itachi's wrist. "I can take care of myself now!"

"You can't do _anything_, little brother."

Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out his older brother. Itachi always told him that he was useless, helpless, that he wasn't worth anything. He tried to tell himself that Itachi was wrong, but sometimes...he wasn't so sure.

"And you'll _never _be able to do anything until you grow up and act right. Now get downstairs and eat your dinner."

Losing all his fight yet again, Sasuke did as he was told and went downstairs. He would never let anyone know how he acted around his older brother. He didn't even have any idea how Kakashi figured it out, but he suspected that Itachi himself had something to do with it.

Itachi never felt like eating after dealing with his brother, so after shaking his head in annoyance, he went to his own bedroom for the night.

Losing his appetite as well, Sasuke wrapped the food and stored it away in the fridge. On the way back to his room he wondered why he didn't just move out. Oh yeah, Itachi kept all his money in an account he didn't have access to. After getting back to his room and staring at the ceiling above his bed for hours, he finally came to a decision. He would break into Itachi's room, (which was harder than you'd think, considering Itachi hardly ever left him alone) and find the pin number to his account. He knew he'd have enough money for a down payment for an apartment, and maybe even a car. Even though he was an intern, he still made decent money. He just had to _get_ to it.

* * *

A few days had passed since Iruka had last seen Kakashi, he called every now and then to update Iruka on his finding, nothing yet. He'd been steadily getting worse, and more worried after Kakashi had told him that his illness might in fact be contagious. How he wasn't sure of yet. That meant that anyone he'd been in contact with recently could be infected. He'd left school at the start of the illness so he hoped the children were safe, but Naruto had been over several times. Kakashi had seen him too, and was in even closer contact than Naruto. He blushed when he thought about how intimate he had been with a near stranger. Something about him was just so enticing, but he had bigger things to worry about. Like how the slightly bloody phlegm he was coughing up had recently become more blood than phlegm. He chest hurt almost constantly now, and his head too. He hoped that Kakashi would come through for him the moment he lay in bed, watching whatever happened to be on since he'd lost the remote yesterday, and he didn't have the strength to search for it. To his dismay, his house had somehow become a mess again. He hated being so weak, but not even his pride could get him up at this point. He was miserable, and half wished that it would all just end. He hated thinking that way, and if Naruto found out he would never hear the end of it. He was exhausted, but he hurt too much to sleep, he was hungry, but he was too tired to get up. If the phone wasn't already on his nightstand he doubted he could even get up to answer it. As if the phone could read his mind it started to ring, and with a groan Iruka answered it. "Hello?" His throat was hoarse from coughing.

"Iruka, I know what's wrong with you." The seriousness of the situation hadn't fully hit Kakashi until he woke up the next morning, and he didn't even need his morning coffee to be alert. "It's called the Sabia virus, and I ordered medication for you last night. I don't know when it'll get here, but once it does, you'll need to take it for 24 to 48 days. It should start working much sooner than that, though."

Sabia virus? It took Iruka a moment to let it all sink in. "You found out what was wrong with me?"

"Yes. It matches everything so perfectly, it's got to be that. But it's so rare I never even heard of it before last night. I still need to find out how you could've gotten it."

"Oh...how does it spread? Could I have given it to anyone? What does it do?" Iruka had so many questions that he couldn't ask them fast enough.

"There were a few times when people got it from lab accidents, but a case was reported where someone got it from being bitten by a rat. It spreads a lot like the flu, through the air, saliva and things like that. We'll go over what it does when I can meet with you."

"Oh...will you come over?" Iruka wracked his brain trying to think of how he might've contracted such a disease, but then it hit him. "Did I give it to you?"

"It's possible. That's not what's important right now. I'll come over now if that's what you want."

"Any time is fine, I can't...really do much now." He coughed, nearly gagging when the taste of blood filled his mouth.

"I'll be there soon, then. Are you alright?" Kakashi didn't wait for Iruka's answer before getting into his car and starting the drive to the apartment building.

"I've just been getting worse. How have you been feeling? It's...been a few days." He was almost nervous about Kakashi coming over, but he knew that in his current condition he couldn't fool around even if he wanted to.

"I haven't felt anything out of the ordinary yet." What they had done a few days ago had been the last thing on Kakashi's mind for a while, but he did allow himself to remember it for a few minutes as he parked his car and hurried to Iruka's apartment. "I'm here, is the door unlocked?"

"Yes, I think it is. I'm in the bedroom. That's good, I hope I didn't get you sick." Iruka would feel awful if he found out he got Naruto or his doctor sick.

"If you weren't so sick, I would've turned that first sentence into some kind of innuendo. Just so you know how considerate I'm being." Kakashi laughed a little, closing his phone and going inside.

Iruka blushed and tried desperately to will it away before Kakashi made it to the room. Of course the man would have to say something like that to get him flustered!

Kakashi couldn't help grinning when he walked in. "Aw, cute."

Iruka tried to look upset, but he couldn't erase the blush on his face which only flustered him further. Only when he started into a coughing fit did Kakashi stop smiling.

Kakashi rubbed Iruka's back until the coughing receded, sighing. "I hope this medication works."

"M-me too." Iruka agreed as he got a tissue out of one of the many boxes stacked around him and wiped the blood off his mouth and hand.

"I'm gonna get you fixed up," he replied as he looked at the blood. "Your cough is still getting worse."

"Yeah...where is it all coming from?" The blood was the most troubling of all. If just that stopped for a while Iruka could relax if only a little. Feeling helpless was something Iruka just couldn't stand, ever since he was a kid and he lost his parents.

"Well...your lungs, obviously. The virus can cause gastrointestinal bleeding, too. The cough medicine I gave you should at least be helping a little, though. Have you been taking it?"

"Yeah, I have been, it's only been getting worse." He didn't blame Kakashi or anything, but he did wish this had been caught sooner. Though nothing could be done about it now, he would just have to be thankful that Kakashi figured it out at all. Still, a small voice in the back of his mind nagged him. What if Kakashi was wrong?

"Up the dosage a little. We have to do _something _until the Ribavirin gets here." Kakashi sat on the bed, although not quite as close as he had sat to Iruka a few days ago.

"Alright." Iruka noticed right away the distance Kakashi kept from him, the slight twinge of pain in his chest wasn't from the illness. He couldn't really blame the doctor, he wouldn't want to catch anything from Iruka. "You don't have to stay. I'll come pick up the Ribavirin when it gets here, or get Naruto to bring it to me.

"You're my patient," Kakashi said firmly, looking almost possessive. "I'll take care of you."

Iruka blinked Kakashi had sounded oddly...passionate. But was it towards him or his profession? Iruka wasn't quiet sure, but he jealously hoped it was him. He smiled at the doctor and grabbed his hand gently. "Thanks."

He let Iruka hold his hand, but made a mental note to wash it later. The last thing he needed was to get sick, too. "You're welcome. Do you need anything?"

Was Kakashi disgusted? He recognized the look in his eye; of course he could, after seeing it so many times before, from so many people. "No...I'm alright." He tried to tell himself it was just because he was sick, but falling back to his old state of mind, he pulled his hand away and turned his head away from the handsome doctor that looked at him in such a hurtful way.

"Iruka? Is something wrong?"

"I said I'm alright." He regretted sounding so harsh, but right now he was exhausted and confused. Kakashi was making him feel so many things at once, he'd only just met the man, and he already couldn't keep up. He just wanted to be alone.

"Alright, alright. Do you want me to leave?" Kakashi didn't know what he did wrong, but apparently he'd struck a nerve somehow.

"Yes, I'd like you to leave." He buried his face in once of his over stuffed pillows, hoping that Kakashi would show himself out.

Kakashi stood up and headed to the door. He wasn't about to stay if Iruka didn't want him there. "Call me if you need me, then."

Iruka didn't bother to answer as he turned his head to look at the wall. He wanted to feel empty, but right now he felt so full of hate, and rejection, and self pity that he felt he might burst from it all. He felt guilty for being rude to Kakashi, he would apologize when he saw him next, if he even made it until then. He wondered briefly what would happen if he died. Nothing. Nothing would happen if he died tomorrow, a few close friends like Naruto would mourn, but life would go on. It always did. He closed his eyes as he tried to relax, thinking that way wouldn't solve anything. He was twenty-five years old, he still had plenty of things to live for. Right?


	3. Chapter 3

We just wanted to say thanks for all the awesome reviews, you guys! c: And, blue-iceland, we'll definitely be trying to keep your advice in mind in the rest of this story. It's awesome to get feedback from an actual doctor~.

* * *

The Ribavirin was working. Iruka had been taking it for nearly a month now, and almost all signs of the virus had vanished. They only thing that remained was a persistent cough, but as time went on, it gradually got better. He hadn't returned to work yet, the school system insisting that he didn't risk spreading the virus to the children. Only once his doctor had cleared him would he be allowed to return. He didn't mind the break though, the virus had taken a toll on his body, and he was only just starting to feel like himself again.

Kakashi had come and gone every now and then, bringing Iruka prescription refills, but they hadn't really talked much since Iruka had asked him to leave that day. He was starting to miss the doctor's company, the charming man he knew so little about. Had he only been messing with Iruka's feelings while he was ill? Did he have something to gain from upsetting him, making him feel worthless? He hoped he'd only been delusional from the sickness, and that Kakashi genuinely had an interest in him. He'd spoken to Naruto about it, and after some teasing and encouragement Iruka decided to bring up the matter the next time he saw the silver haired man.

Which just happened to be right then. Kakashi snapped Iruka out of his thoughts with a knock on the door to his apartment with a new box of Ribavirin he had just picked up. "Iruka, you home?"

Iruka nearly jumped, the sudden noise startling him. "Y-yeah." He got up, opening the door for the man. Great. When he'd promised Naruto he'd talk to the handsome doctor, he hoped he'd get a little time to plan out what he'd say. Guess he was winging it.

"The next set of pills came," Kakashi said as he held the small box out to Iruka. The man probably knew that was why he was there, anyway, since it was almost the only reason he'd been visiting lately. Even Kakashi himself had started to see how unprofessional he was being; he couldn't give all his time to one patient just because he was personally interested in him. He just hoped Iruka didn't take the drop in attention the wrong way.

"Thanks." he replied, taking the box and fidgeting with it. "I uh, guess I'll see you next time."

"I'll call you the next time I'm free, if you want."

"Huh?" What was that supposed to mean? Did he want to see Iruka about the virus, or...just to see him?

Kakashi shrugged. "I thought maybe we could get some coffee sometime."

"Sure..." What else was he supposed to say? He struggled to come up with something. "Do you uh, want to come in?" Not the best, but good enough Iruka thought.

"Would you mind?"

Iruka stepped aside, allowing Kakashi to walk in. "I kinda...wanted to talk to you I guess."

"About what? I've been meaning to talk to you, too." Kakashi couldn't help frowning a little, wondering what the man needed to tell him. He was probably just getting tired of trying to figure out what Kakashi's feelings towards him were, honestly.

"You first." He sat at the table, getting more nervous by the second. He was half tempted to make up something to get out of talking to the man about how he really felt.

Kakashi sat down too, thankful that he got to explain everything to Iruka first. "I was wondering if you knew why I haven't been able to do as much for you lately as I did at first."

"Well, you're a busy man. I'm not a doctor, but even I know how busy they are. It's not like you have an obligation or anything to come check on me." He smiled, although a bit forced. "Besides, you always bring my medication on time, so there isn't a problem."

"It's not just that I'm busy. It's not exactly professional for me to give all of my attention to you, even if I want to." The bit of confidence he had lost came back instantly when Iruka blushed a little at his last comment, and he laughed. "I'll eventually need to choose between being your doctor and being in your personal life. And I think I could stand losing you as a patient, as long as I get to see you more."

Iruka was about to agree that Kakashi made the right decision with putting his job first, but after a moment of processing, he realized that Kakashi picked…him? That really wasn't where he expected this conversation to go. So instead of verbalizing his feelings he just stared dumbly at the man, red in the face.

"Does that sound fair to you?" he asked with a grin. He had almost forgotten how fun it was to make this guy blush.

"Y-yeah, so does this mean that this is my last round of medication?" He thought Kakashi mentioned it taking longer, but perhaps the medicine was taking affect more quickly than anticipated.

"No. I'm seeing this through until you're better. It just means that we can't be anything more than a doctor and a patient until I'm _not _your doctor anymore."

"Oh, how long will that take?" He could've slapped himself; did he sound too eager? What if Kakashi liked the chase and lost interest in him? Or what if he took to long to get better and he lost interest any way? Or, what if he was over-thinking this and spacing out so much that Kakashi thought he was crazy?

"You've got at least another month or two left." Kakashi watched Iruka's expression change every now and then with an amused look before speaking up again. "You can tell me what you're thinking about, you know."

Covering his face with his hands as he broke out into another embarrassing blush, he shook his head. "I wasn't really thinking about anything." He really needed to take some lessons from Naruto about lying better.

"If you say so," Kakashi replied with a laugh. "You're so cute."

Iruka groaned. His face felt so hot. "You're a jerk." He pouted when Kakashi only laughed harder.

Tugging on his ponytail playfully, Kakashi stood up. "Don't be so embarrassed, it's just a compliment. Now I've got to go to work and make sure Sasuke and Naruto don't kill each other."

He smiled and stood up. "Naruto's been complaining about that guy a lot recently." He chewed on his lip for a moment before hugging Kakashi.

Kakashi blinked in surprise before returning the hug, shrugging a little. "They fight a lot. They're gonna learn to work together whether they like it or not."

"Naruto's really stubborn, so it could take a while. Um, do you mind if I come with you? I'd like to see him." He was trying to give a hint, but he wasn't as good with implying things as Kakashi, apparently.

"I don't mind. Just don't keep him from working too long."

He nodded. "I won't. When does his shift end? He wanted to come see me afterward, anyway."

"You'd have to ask him that," Kakashi replied as he headed back to his car.

Iruka followed him, getting into the passenger seat of the_ very_ nice car. He started to wonder, how often did Kakashi flirt with his patients? He was an attractive guy so surely even his co-workers were after him. He paled at the thought of_ things_ going on in the car.

"You're thinking awfully hard again." Kakashi got into the car and buckled up, starting the drive back to the hospital. "Wanna tell me anything this time?"

Snapping back to reality, Iruka quickly shook his head. No way was he going to tell Kakashi what he was thinking about. The pervert would embarrass him to no end.

Kakashi pouted. "Boring. Don't make me have to beg you."

Waving his hand, Iruka assured him that he wasn't thinking about anything important. Once at the hospital, the two emerged from the car and headed inside. Right away, the sound of fighting reached their ears."You screwed up again, idiot." Sasuke picked up the syringe and filled it to the correct amount as Naruto shot him a glare.

"I measured it right, you _prick_. Now it's too much. What are you trying to do, kill her?"Kakashi frowned, walking over. "Fighting again? Really? How about you two deal with your little disagreements after you're done helping patients?"

"_I'm _trying to kill her? You only took into account her weight, you need to consider age, too! Ugh!" Shoving the chart and syringe into Kakashi's hands, Sasuke walked awkward, Iruka spoke up. "Hey Naruto, is this a bad time?"

Shaking his head, Kakashi shooed the two out of the room as he finished up with the patient, apologizing to the confused girl Naruto and Sasuke had gotten distracted leaned on the wall outside of the room, crossing his arms. "It's a _great _time now that Sasuke is gone."

"Come on, he can't be that bad. You should try and be the bigger man." It was so easy to get Naruto riled up.

"I can't, Iruka. He's a huge jerk, and he thinks everything I do is wrong. And I try so hard to do stuff right around him that I end up getting nervous and messing it up, anyway!"

"You know, I bet if you told him that, he might lay off. I mean, he might make fun of you a little, but if it helps, who cares?" Surely Sasuke wasn't that harsh.

"Well what if he doesn't lay off?" Iruka _did _always have good ideas, but what if he was wrong this time? If that jerk's torture got any worse, Naruto didn't think he would be able to take it.

"Then I'll take care of it, okay?" He pet Naruto's hair and smiled. He doubted there was really much he could do, but something told him that Sasuke was really a nice guy once you got to know him. Hopefully.

"I guess I'll try, then," Naruto said with a nod, hugging the man. At least Iruka always knew how to make him feel better.

He laughed and returned the hug. "So, when's your shift over? I'm feeling much better now."

"In like 15 minutes," Naruto replied after checking his watch. "I'm really glad you're getting better."

"Me too, I should be able to get back to teaching soon." He smiled thoughtfully. "I miss all those kids."

"They probably miss you more. You're the best teacher ever."

Iruka laughed and ruffled the blond's unruly mess of spikes. "Don't be a teacher's pet."

Naruto pouted, sticking his tongue out at the man. "That doesn't apply when you're not my teacher anymore."

Reaching out, and grabbing his tongue Iruka grinned. "I thought I broke you of this habit a long time ago."

Squeaking, Naruto smacked Iruka's hand away with a laugh. "Get your germy hands away from my mouth!"

Smiling, he flicked the boy's nose. "I'm officially not contagious anymore, remember? He and Naruto were always laughing together; he hated it when the blond was upset. He was such a troublemaker as a kid, and even though he was now a little more well-behaved, Iruka was glad to see he hadn't lost any of his spirit.

* * *

Sasuke waited outside the sliding glass doors of the hospital, checking the time impatiently. Itachi was late for possibly the first time in his entire life. Usually he would arrive early and rush Sasuke into walking out, so this was pretty damn unusual.

When Itachi finally showed up, he parked the car where Sasuke could see him and didn't bother getting out. Once his brother was in the car, he immediately started the drive home, not even mentioning why he had been almost 20 minutes late.

The air in the car was thick and tense. It was as if Itachi was torturing him. Had he done something wrong? "Itachi?" He wasn't even sure what to say.

"What, Sasuke?" Itachi clearly wasn't in the mood to talk, but he was sure Sasuke would try to get him to, anyway.

"What's wrong with you?' Not many things could get Itachi to even flinch, let alone get him this upset. Whatever had happened, Sasuke was sure it was bad.

"It's none of your concern, little brother." Itachi's voice wasn't quite as harsh by the time he reached the end of his sentence. He was angry, but even if Sasuke had his share of mistakes, _this _wasn't his fault. If anyone was to blame, it was himself. Hadn't Sasuke always told him he needed to have check-ups more often? Shaking his head, Itachi parked the car and got out. "This isn't anything you need to worry about."

"If it's about you, I'd like to know." Something in Itachi's voice concerned him. His brother may have been a controlling jerk, and he hated him sometimes, but he was still his brother.

"You don't need to know. Just go to your room for a while."

Giving up for the moment because pressing on could result in Itachi losing his temper, Sasuke climbed the stairs to his room. After his brother was out of sight, Itachi sat at the kitchen table and pulled out his phone, dialing their personal doctor's number.

"Hello?" Scribbling his signature, he handed the prescription off to a nurse who would deliver it to his patient. Dr. Yuudai hardly believed it when he heard Itachi's voice on the other line. He'd been a doctor for the brothers for years, and this was probably about the second time he'd ever been called. Pulling his dark blue hair into a ponytail, he sat down at his desk.

"I've been having some headaches lately." Alright, that was a bit of an understatement. But there was no reason to make a big deal out of anything until he found out if it had a simple solution.

"How frequently? And I suppose that if taking an aspirin would be enough to stop them you wouldn't have called me, so they must be pretty severe." He hadn't dealt with the older of the two brother's much, but he knew enough that the guy wasn't to pleasant to be around. He'd make this quick.

"I've been waking up with them lately, and they don't go away for most of the day."

"Hm, that _is _strange. I'll make an appointment for you tomorrow around noon if you can make it. I'll do some research until then." He wanted to make sure he could quickly diagnose the man; the less time he had to spend with him, the better. He would be thorough, though. He was paid quite a bit by the brothers, and he didn't want to lose them as patients.

"That's fine. I'll see you then." Itachi hung up, his mood not improved at all. He hated going to any kind of doctor.

Hours later, Sasuke made his way downstairs. Usually Itachi had dinner ready by now. He figured his brother's foul mood had something to do with the table being bare. He'd just heat up something from the freezer. He wouldn't risk messing up something in the kitchen and unleashing Itachi's fury upon himself.

"Sasuke, what time does your shift start tomorrow?" Itachi's bad mood wasn't quite as prominent as before as he rubbed his temples, trying to get yet another headache to stop.

He looked across the kitchen, and out into the living room to find Itachi on the couch. "9 in the morning, why?" He took a small pizza out of the fridge and preheated the oven.

"I just needed to know, I have to be somewhere at noon," he explained, keeping his eyes closed.

"Oh, where are you going?" He only half expected Itachi to bother answering. He frowned at the stove, why the hell did preheating always take so long?

"To see Dr. Yuudai." Well that was just wonderful. Stupid headaches, making him talk before he even thought about what he was saying.

"Huh?" The doctor? Itachi hated the doctor, something must've been really wrong to make him actually go. He couldn't help but feel his chest constrict with worry. He hated how much he loved his brother. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." It was odd, Itachi couldn't remember the last time his little brother had actually sounded concerned for him.

"It must be something, you _never_ go to the doctor." He didn't care if Itachi made him pay for it later, he wanted to know what was wrong with his brother.

"It's just headaches."

He frowned, Itachi was always so vague. "How bad are they?'

"Bad enough to make me want to beat my head against a wall," Itachi said with annoyance, laying his head back against the couch.

He sighed and walked over. The oven wasn't gonna preheat anytime soon apparently, so he figured he had time to question Itachi. "When did they start?"

"I don't remember exactly. It doesn't matter."

"Does your head hurt right now?" He stood behind the couch, wondering if Itachi would even let him, and started to rub his shoulders.

"Very much. Sit down."

Hearing the oven ding he went back, and put the pizza in, he sighed and came back to sit next to his brother.

"I don't need to be taken care of, this is nothing. It'll be solved by tomorrow."

"If you're sure. Why didn't you tell me sooner? I could've helped, you know." He knew why Itachi didn't ask him for help; he didn't trust his own little brother.

"I don't see how. And I don't need help. Eat your pizza," Itachi said as he stood up and headed to his bedroom.

Sasuke just shook his head before getting his pizza and heading back to his room. Maybe that's why Itachi had been more of a jerk than normal, if that was even possible. He hoped that he'd get something to stop them soon, he wasn't sure how much more he could take. Moving out still seemed like a great idea.


	4. Chapter 4

Iruka looked out into the crowd of party-goers nervously. If this was a celebration for his health returning, then why was it that he didn't know half the people here? He nearly jumped when a hand clapped down on his shoulder. Looking back he smiled a little when he saw the person responsible for the mess that was going to be left in his apartment once the party was over. "Naruto, you didn't really have to do this you know."

Grinning proudly, Naruto shrugged. "I thought it'd be nice. A lot more people showed up than I invited, though. Has Dr. Hatake shown up yet?"

"I haven't seen him. It's a wonder this many people can actually fit in here." At least now he knew that Naruto hadn't just wandered the street and invited everyone he passed by. He took another glance through the crowd, trying to spot that grey tuft of hair. He frowned when nothing caught his eye. Had he really expected him to come, anyway? It was a Friday night, the hospital was probably busy.

"We should've charged people to get in," Naruto said with a laugh, offering him a plate of food he'd managed to make before everyone ravaged the snacks. "Oh well, maybe he'll show up later."

"Maybe." Iruka picked a cracker off the plate and laughed before popping it in his mouth. He couldn't help but feel like a stranger in his own home. Like he was at a party he wasn't even invited to. But of course he would play the part to make Naruto happy. He could deal with it for a few hours.

"Have some fun, alright? I'm gonna go put some more food out." Naruto gave him a quick hug before squeezing through the crowd to get back to the kitchen.

He returned the hug, wondering briefly if he should take back the extra house key he had given Naruto. He took the only empty seat on his couch and idly listened to people chatting and laughing. Everyone's good moods _did _brighten his spirits a little. Maybe the party wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Kakashi, why did you need to drag me along? The last thing I want to do is be in the same place as that idiot." Sasuke crossed his arms as he practically pouted in the passenger seat of the older doctor's car. He hadn't been expecting the man to pull up to his door and all but demand Sasuke come with him. He would've refused if it wasn't for the fact that the medication Itachi was taking for his newly diagnosed cluster headaches made him incredibly irritable. More than usual, if that was even possible.

"I told you, I'm not getting off your case until you and Naruto get along." Kakashi parked outside of the apartment building, raising an eyebrow at the amount of cars around. "Looks like Iruka's pretty popular, huh?"

Sasuke groaned. He hated crowds with a passion. He decided that his plan for the night would be to find a dark corner and stay there. He wasn't in the mood to be hit on by dim-witted girls, or be pressured (not that he would ever let that happen) into drinking. He would get his revenge on Kakashi, and spend the whole night plotting it. "I'm not even gonna talk to the guy." He got out of the car and practically slammed the door, making sure to let Kakashi know how unhappy he was about this."Oh, don't be such a baby. You better talk to him." No matter what the situation was, Sasuke could _always _find something to complain about. It really grated on Kakashi's nerves sometimes, but he was in a pretty good mood tonight since he was getting to see Iruka. After heading inside and up the stairs to Iruka's apartment, he let himself in, hoping the other man wouldn't mind too just rolled his eyes as he stalked off, aiming for the kitchen, which seemed to be the least crowded.

Naruto frowned as he looked in the fridge, trying to decide if Iruka would mind him making a few more sandwiches. Figuring it would be fine, he grabbed some cheese and turkey before shutting the door and turning around, glaring when he saw Sasuke walk in. "Who invited you?"

Narrowing his eyes at the blond, he just turned his head. "What's it to you?"

"This is _my _friend's party," he said as he made a few more sandwiches to put out.

"It's not like I wanted to be here, Kakashi dragged me along." He grabbed a sandwich off the plate, ignoring the glare that was sent his way.

"Yeah, and everyone knows you do _everything _Kakashi tells you to. And don't put your greasy hands on our food!" He knew it was immature, but Naruto couldn't help trying to snatch the sandwich back. Sasuke just made him that way, damn it!

"Hn." He held the sandwich just out of Naruto's reach, a smirk threatening to break out on his face.

"Bastard!" Naruto's glare intensified as he kept trying to grab the sandwich, yanking on Sasuke's sleeve to try to bring his arm closer.

"Fine then, take it." He said before letting his arm go slack and causing the sandwich to collide with Naruto's head.

The second he realized what had happened, Naruto tackled Sasuke with a growl, causing the few people that had still been hanging around in the kitchen to quickly make their way into the living room.

"Get off me, you idiot!" Flipping himself and Naruto over, he straddled the smaller boy and glared down at him.

"_You _get off!"

"Make me." Sasuke had had enough, he was going to settle this tonight. Naruto would learn his place, damn it.

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto shoved against Sasuke's chest and tried to throw him off. "What's your problem?"

Not budging an inch, he set a cold glare on the blonde. "What's _your_ problem? You need to learn your place. You're a nurse, I'm a doctor. You're beneath me, got it?"

"The only thing you are is a conceited asshole," Naruto replied with a scoff.

"Whatever." Talking obviously didn't do any good with a thick-headed idiot like this. He got off the boy and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "The only reason I'm here is because Kakashi has a thing for your friend."

"Like I didn't already know about that." Rolling his eyes, Naruto stood up and brushed himself off. "With the way you're always messing with me, it seems like _you _have a thing for _me_."

"In your dreams, you idiot." Yeah right, like he would ever stoop down to_ that _level. "If anything, you're the one after me. It's the more obvious choice anyway."

"I'm not into spoiled brats."

"It takes one to know one." Wow...he really needed to work on his insults. He made a mental note to steal some from his brother the next time he was angry.

"Right. Just go find someone else to bug, I have to go wash my hair thanks to you."

"Tch, I'm surprised you actually bathe, considering the standard you live at."

"I've had enough of you, damn it!" Shoving the other boy against the counter, Naruto threw the hardest punch he could at his jaw. Startling for only a second, Sasuke regained his composure and caught the fist inches from his face. Narrowing his eyes, he shoved the blonde away, and threw his own punch, aiming for his face. Naruto couldn't manage to stop the punch like Sasuke had, but he decided he could sure as hell still do _something_ as he kicked one of the boy's feet out from under him and knocked him off balance.

Biting his lip to keep from yelping, Sasuke reached out hoping to grab hold of something to right himself. The only thing he managed to grab was the front of Naruto's shirt, dragging the blonde to the floor along with him. Naruto stumbled as he tried to catch himself, but all he managed to do was land right on top of Sasuke and knock the breath of out both of them. And of course he _also_ managed to land in the perfect position for them to end up with their lips being pressed together. As soon as he managed to sit up, he glared and wiped his mouth off with the back of his arm in disgust.

"Just get out, already!"

Frowning, he shoved Naruto off of his legs. After wiping his mouth off as well, he stomped out of the kitchen in search of Kakashi. He'd never been so embarrassed in his life! Getting angrier by the second he search every room, practically kicking open the bedroom door when he heard Kakashi's voice.

After a few moments of scanning the room, Kakashi finally spotted Iruka and walked over, grinning. "Sorry I'm late."

"Hm?" Iruka turned to look at who was addressing him, and in an instant he felt his face heat up. Instead of the usual attire of a buttoned up shirt, slacks and a tie, Kakashi was dressed in a much more casual way. The slacks were replaced with grey jeans that were worn but well taken care of. His shirt was simple, but damn if it didn't look amazing on him. Kakashi looked stunning, not that he wasn't in what Iruka usually saw him wearing, but this was a nice change. "H-hey Kakashi." He tripped over his words when he realized he must've been staring.

Kakashi couldn't help but grin more when just his presence was apparently enough to get Iruka flustered. "Think you can scoot over a little to make room for me?"

"Of course." He tried to regain his composure as he made room for the grey-haired man to sit down. He was hoping to actually not make a fool of himself in front of the man, but it was already proving to be a daunting task.

As soon as Kakashi was seated, he put an arm over Iruka's shoulders, laughing a little. "Looks like a lot of people were worried about you."

Glancing at the hand on his shoulder, Iruka laughed a little. "To be honest, I don't even know half these people." He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the scar on his nose. "Naruto kind of set this whole thing up."

"Is that so? I wondered why you looked so uncomfortable."

"It's not like I'm upset about it, it's just not really my thing. Am I making any sense?" He asked with a nervous laugh as Kakashi starting drawing little circles on his arm.

"Of course you are. Some people just don't like strangers and crowds. We could always go somewhere alone, you know," he suggested as he squeezed the other man's shoulder. Making Iruka nervous really was much more fun than it should've been.

Fighting back a blush, Iruka nodded and got up from his spot on the couch. "It's too noisy to talk in here anyway."

Kakashi stood with him, leaving his arm draped over his shoulders. "Where to, then?"

"My room, I guess." Slipping from Kakashi's arm, he made his way to his bedroom, which was thankfully empty, and took a seat on his freshly made bed.

After closing the door behind them, Kakashi sat next to Iruka. "Much better."

Feeling suddenly awkward, Iruka started to fidget with a loose string on the hem of his shirt. "Uh...yeah."

"Don't go quiet on me now. How have you been feeling?"

"Sorry, I've been feeling much better. It's like it never happened." He wasn't lying, that Ribavirin had really done the trick. Sure, it took a good few months, but it was well worth it. "Hey, I never got to really thank you for saving my life."

He barely stopped himself from laughing at that last line. Only Iruka could make something so cliché sound so cute. "It's what I do."

He sighed, of course it was Kakashi's job. It's not like he would've denied him help. "I know, I just really appreciate it."

"Well I'm glad you're alright."

"So..." He wasn't quite sure how he wanted to go about it, but he knew he wanted to let Kakashi know how he felt.

"Yeah?" It was pretty obvious that Iruka needed to talk about something with him, but he couldn't imagine what it could be. He hated to admit it, but the teacher was pretty hard to read sometimes.

Instead of stumbling over his words and making a fool of himself Iruka decided to just _show_ Kakashi what he wanted to say. Leaning closer and swallowing nervously, he pressed his lips lightly against the doctor's cheek.

Iruka seriously had to be breaking some kind of record with all the cute things he had been doing lately. "Now what did I do to deserve that?"

He blushed like mad and looked away. "I dunno...I guess it was another thank you." Damn it, he needed to stop acting like a teenage girl. It's not like he'd never flirted with someone before! Kakashi just made him so nervous.

"Well, since I'm officially not your doctor anymore, you can thank me like that as much as you want."

Iruka laughed, feeling some of the tension leave the room. "Is that so?"

"Yup. In fact, I insist you do," he said with a grin, wrapping his arms around Iruka in a hug and stealing a kiss. Closing his eyes, Iruka leaned into the kiss, bringing his hands up to Kakashi's chest before sliding them up to rest on his shoulders. God, Kakashi was a good kisser.

"I'd like to spend more time with you," Kakashi said, leaning back a little and letting his hands rest on Iruka's hips.

He smiled shyly up at the handsome man. "I'd like that."Just as Iruka was about to lean in for another kiss, the door was kicked open and a furious Sasuke stomped in. "Kakashi! We're leaving now!"

Kakashi gave Sasuke an annoyed frown. "I'm busy. What's the problem?"

A little embarrassed and mildly afraid of Sasuke's deathly glare, Iruka put some distance between himself and Kakashi."I said I want to leave!" He was getting impatient.

"Sorry, Iruka, someone must've missed his nap today." After pulling Iruka closer for one last kiss, Kakashi stood up. "I'll come see you some other time, alright? Go on to the car, Sasuke."

Blushing slightly and feeling extremely uncomfortable with Sasuke present, Iruka returned the kiss. "It's alright. Goodbye, Kakashi." Waving goodbye to the man, Iruka set out on the search for Naruto, who he figured was most likely the cause of Sasuke's made his way through the crowd before getting in the car and slamming the door. He was wrong, putting up with Itachi would've been much easier.

"See ya, Iruka." Kakashi followed Sasuke, getting in the driver's seat. "Alright, quit sulking and tell me what happened."

"Naruto is what happened. Just take me home. This is all your fault, anyway." He didn't even care if he sounded childish at this point, he just wanted to get home.

"Don't be a baby. How bad could it have been?" Shaking his head, he drove the angry boy home.

Without bothering to say goodnight, Sasuke got out of the car and headed inside, praying to every God he could think of that Itachi would be asleep.

Sasuke's prayers were _almost_ answered, seeing as how his brother was very close to falling asleep on the couch. That damn medication made him so exhausted sometimes. Spying his brother after walking into the living room, he was careful to not make a sound as he crept up the stairs to his room. If Itachi noticed his presence, he didn't show it. All he did was roll over, trying to get more comfortable on the couch as he drifted off.

Sighing with relief once his door was closed, Sasuke inspected his room. Itachi had been in there, but why? The only reason he could tell was because the mouse was on the opposite end of the keyboard, and since Itachi was left handed that meant he hand to have been on Sasuke's computer, and just forgotten to move the mouse back. Sitting down at his desk, Sasuke brought up the window for recently accessed places on the computer. Itachi had been looking though his internet history. He froze. Itachi had seen that Sasuke had been looking for places to rent. Damn...he was going to get it in the morning.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been nearly two months since Kakashi and Iruka had become a legitimate couple. Iruka was happier than he had been in ages, and even Naruto's constant teasing couldn't bother him. His good health had completely returned, and he felt better than ever. He thanked the man that saved his life everyday, usually with a kiss or some other form of affection. Sasuke and Naruto were fairing better as well, able to even be in the same room without yelling and throwing punches. The awkward kiss on the night of the party had helped them to keep their distance and work efficiently with each other. If only Kakashi knew that it wasn't because of him that the boys were getting along. It may have also had to do with the fact that Itachi had finally let his little brother leave the nest, and get an apartment. He'd even gone so far as to let Sasuke buy a car, with the highest safety rating available of, course. Even though Sasuke managed to convince his brother to let him move out, though, Itachi was still just as controlling as ever. He couldn't help checking in every now and then to make sure Sasuke was taking care of things in the apartment, but it wasn't so bad now that he wasn't constantly around.

Iruka sat at the bar in his kitchen, idly watching the kitten that Kakashi had gotten him a weak earlier hungrily eat its fishy smelling dinner. He still hadn't decided on a name for the small grey kitten with a white face. He figured he'd ask Kakashi to help him decide on a name over dinner. The hospital was throwing an appreciation banquet for all the doctors, and since they were allowed to bring a guest Kakashi had asked Iruka to come with him. It wouldn't be their first date, but it was certainly the first time they'd gone to anything formal. Iruka had been worried that the suit in the back of his closet would be to small, but it was still a perfect fit.

After taking his time to get ready, Kakashi looked at the clock and grinned, deciding it was finally late enough to go pick up Iruka. He had been looking forward to the dinner and some quality time with Iruka all day, especially after having such a busy week. Getting into his car, he didn't waste any time in heading to Iruka's apartment and inviting himself in. His manners had gone out the window not too long after he and Iruka started dating, but at least Iruka didn't seem to mind that much. "Hey, Iruka."

Nearly falling off the stool, he swiveled around to glare at the man. "Don't you knock anymore?" The kitten, equally scared by the intrusion and Iruka's outburst, sped out of the kitchen and to the safety of the couch.

"Nope." Laughing and giving Iruka an apologetic look, Kakashi sat next to him. "Sorry. Are you almost ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'm ready. Just got done feeding the cat. You need to help me name him, I'm not good at that sort of thing." Kissing his cheek, Iruka got up from the stool and grabbed Kakashi's hand. "Let's go."

Kakashi led Iruka to his car, thinking. "Well, what have you come up with so far? He's _your _cat."

Iruka pouted, getting into the car after Kakashi, ever the gentleman, opened the door for him. "Not much, I just call him kitty right now."

"How cute," Kakashi said with a laugh as he started the car. "You could just call him Kit."

"Pfft, that's lame. I should just name him Kashi. Isn't that cute?" Iruka teased while poking that oh so ticklish spot on Kakashi's side. He'd discovered it one day while Kakashi was molesting him on the couch. So far it was the most effective way of getting Kakashi off of him.

Squirming and starting the drive to the banquet, Kakashi frowned. "Hey now, not when I'm driving."

Smiling Iruka returned his hand to his lap. "I hope I'm not underdressed. Or overdressed, for that matter. You said it was a formal dinner, right?" The last thing Iruka wanted to do was embarrass Kakashi in front of his colleagues.

"You look great," Kakashi assured him. "I'm glad you wanted to come."

"Of course I wanted to come." He smiled. "I've been excited about this since the day you told me. It's all I've been thinking about."

"Good. My friends have been wanting to meet you," he said with a grin as he parked the car.

"Really?" He'd never actually spoken to anyone that worked at the hospital other than Naruto and Sasuke. It would be nice to get to know Kakashi's friends.

"Yup. I'm sure they'll like you. So when is Naruto getting here?"

"He said he'd meet me here, so I'm really not sure." Getting out of the car Iruka surveyed the parking lot, wondering how many doctors would be there.

"Let's go inside and see if he's already here, then." After getting out and locking the car, Kakashi held Iruka's hand and walked into the building.

"Alright." Once they were inside Iruka almost immediately spotted the flash of yellow hair. "Naruto!" He called, waving a hand so the boy would spot him.

"Well that didn't take long." Kakashi watched as the blond rushed over and hugged Iruka tightly."Hey," Naruto said with a smile. "Took you long enough to get here."

Returning the hug, he grinned. "Well, don't you look sharp." Iruka laughed and tugged on the boy's orange tie.

"Hey don't make fun of me!" Naruto pouted, crossing his arms. "They finally put the food out. Do you guys wanna sit with me?""I don't see why not," Kakashi said with a shrug.

"Sure, do you want me to make you a plate while you pick a table, Kakashi? Or do you already have one, Naruto?"

"I've got one, over there," Naruto replied, pointing to the table in question as he walked over to the table of food, expecting the two to follow him.

"Okay." Looking over all the food, his stomach grumbled as if on cue. "This looks great." He laughed. "When the school shows appreciation for the teachers, all we get is a few extra doughnuts in the lounge."

"They never do enough for you guys." Naruto headed back to the table after filling up his plate as much as he could, frowning when Kakashi snuck a kiss after he and Iruka sat down. "I saw that.""I know," Kakashi said with a grin, his eyes still on Iruka.

Iruka blushed. Kakashi was always doing things like that to embarrass him…not that he would ever want Kakashi to stop. "It's really a wonder how all this happened."

"It sure is." Kakashi idly played with Iruka's hair as Naruto hurriedly ate his food, whining about their flirting between bites.

Laughing, Iruka finished his plate of more than amazing food. "If you don't like it you can always hang out with someone else."

"That's right," Kakashi said as he put an arm around Iruka's shoulders."I will." Pouting, Naruto stood up and headed off to wander the room.

Iruka leaned closer to Kakashi, watching Naruto walk away. "So, I hear he's been getting along with Sasuke much better."

"He has. I haven't heard a death threat out of either of them since your party."

"Wow, what did you do to them?" He could only imagine the terror they must've felt when Kakashi finally lost his temper.

"Not a thing, besides making them work together at the hospital. I have no clue what turned them around so fast."

"Do you think they finally talked about it? I suggested it to Naruto." Feeling a hand creep up his thigh, he gave Kakashi a warning glance.

"Maybe they did." Kakashi grinned defiantly as he rubbed Iruka's thigh. "Either way, I'm glad I don't have to deal with it at work anymore."

He gave Kakashi one last stern teacher look before slapping the offending hand away. "I'm glad Naruto is actually growing up. In school he was a trouble maker, made my life pretty tough there for a while."

Unfazed, Kakashi barely waited a moment before leaning in to kiss the other man's neck. "You really keep track of your students, don't you?"

He shuddered; the urge to close his eyes and let Kakashi continue was overwhelming. "I-I try to be a good teacher."

"You are. I can tell," he muttered against Iruka's neck, biting down a little.

Gasping, Iruka put his hand on the back of Kakashi's neck, grabbing hold of the fine hairs there and tugging.

Hissing a little at the slight pain, Kakashi grinned. "Getting a little rough there, Iruka."

He blushed furiously, slapping the grey-haired man on the back of the head lightly. "No more touching me tonight, got it?"

"Alright, alright. You're the boss," Kakashi said teasingly, leaning back in his seat.

Iruka huffed, cramming his mouth full with the rest of his dinner. "That's right, I am!"

Kakashi smirked, resisting the urge to laugh at how cute Iruka was being. "You can order me around anytime you want."

"And stop embarrassing me!" Kakashi just had to say weird things like that all the time that made him blush and stumble over his words. Yet he could say anything to the man and he'd just grin as if it were nothing!

"Aw, but it's so fun."

Iruka rolled his eyes. "Of course it's fun for you. Now go get me some punch!" He practically giggled when Kakashi kissed his cheek and left to get him a cup.

* * *

Naruto wandered around aimlessly for a bit before joining Sasuke at a table. "Hey, I didn't know you were coming."

Great, just the person Sasuke was hoping to avoid. "I wasn't planning on it, Itachi is making me." Of course Itachi was making him go, even made up some bullshit excuse about how it's rude not to go a dinner you were invited to.

"Itachi? That's your brother, right?" Naruto had heard some pretty weird things about that guy, but he figured most of them were just rumors.

"Yeah, my brother." He didn't feel like telling Naruto much more than that, and he hoped he wouldn't ask.

"I heard he's really creepy," Naruto said before he could stop himself, laughing sheepishly. "What's he like?"

Sasuke couldn't really argue with that. "There's not really much I can say about him." He gave a quick look around before continuing. "He's a controlling bastard, basically."

"Really? What kinda stuff does he do?"

"Just...why should I tell you, anyway?" Naruto sure was nosy, what business did he have asking about his personal life? He hardly knew the guy.

"Just wondering," he said with a shrug. "You don't have to get all cranky."

"Tch." Pushing his plate away, Sasuke rested his chin on his hand. Where had Itachi gone? He'd brought him as his guest (by force), but as soon as they had gotten there Itachi had disappeared.

"Jeez, don't be like that." Naruto frowned, looking around the room. It was pretty sad when _Sasuke _was the best company he could find.

"Who did you bring, anyway?" He hadn't seen Naruto with anyone except Kakashi and…what was his name? Iruka?

"I didn't bring anyone. I was gonna invite Iruka, but Dr. Hatake beat me to it."

"They're pretty close aren't they? He was the one that got some strange illness right? Kakashi spent a hell of a lot of time with him. I knew it had to be more than just concern. That perv." He would never admit it, but he was happy that his mentor had finally found someone to be with.

"Yeah, and we're still not even sure how he got it." Naruto shook his head, laughing a little. "Iruka didn't believe me at first when I told him he was flirting with him."

"It's not really a big deal for that man to flirt with someone, he flirted with me when he first became my mentor. I put a stop to that pretty early." It had been so embarrassing for his superior to grope him any time his back was to the grey-haired man.

Naruto couldn't help snickering. "Pfft, I bet you liked it."

"I'm not into older men." He inwardly smirked at the look on Naruto's face. Sasuke's bluntness had obviously caught him off guard.

"Well of course you're not," Naruto said after looking flustered for a moment, crossing his arms. "That's why you were all over me at Iruka's party."

"Excuse me?" Sasuke glared at the blonde. "I think you have it backwards, you came onto me."

"No way," Naruto replied with a frown. "Like I'd even be interested in you."

"Is that so?" Sasuke questioned, leaning in towards the blond.

"Yes." Giving Sasuke a stubborn look, Naruto didn't even budge as he leaned closer. Not one to back down from a challenge, Sasuke kept getting closer until he was so close that he could tell Naruto was holding his breath.

Huffing, Naruto scooted his chair back, giving Sasuke an annoyed look. "Creeper."

Feeling satisfied, Sasuke leaned back in his chair. "Idiot."

"Shut up." Naruto rolled his eyes, kicking Sasuke's chair before blinking and looking past him. "Hey, is that your brother?""Sasuke, stop flirting. You've barely touched your food."

Sasuke frowned. "Yes, that's him. I wasn't flirting, and I'm full. Where were you?"

"I know what flirting looks like. Unlike you, I was socializing instead of sulking at the table. Now who's your friend?"Well the rumors about Sasuke's brother being intimidating weren't wrong, apparently. "My name's Naruto."

"I highly doubt you were socializing." Bullying was probably a better word for what Itachi did. "He's a nurse at the hospital."

"Don't get an attitude with me. We can't stay for too much longer, so do something besides mope around for a little while."Frowning when neither of the brothers even acknowledged that he had spoken, Naruto pulled Sasuke's plate closer to him and picked at the food, listening to their conversation.

"Look, I didn't even want to come here in the first place, so don't tell me what to do." Sasuke thanked God that he had already moved out because if he'd have still been at home and spoken to Itachi like that, there would've been hell to pay.

"Then let's just go," Itachi said with a glare. Sasuke had really been testing his patience lately.

He sighed, getting up from the table. "Later." With his mouth full, all Naruto could do was wave energetically as Sasuke and Itachi left through the back door.

"It's no wonder you don't have many friends, if you give them all the same attitude you give me," Itachi muttered as he walked to his car.

"Believe me, I don't." The reason he didn't have many friends was because they were more trouble than they were worth. He only had colleagues. Sasuke got in the passenger seat of his brother's car. "Why is it that you wouldn't let me drive my car here?"

"How _do_ you treat them, then? It would be a waste of gas for you to drive here when I could just take you."

"I treat them like equals. Whatever." He didn't try and start any more conversations with Itachi the rest of the ride to his new apartment.

Shaking his head, Itachi parked in front of the apartment building. "Go on. I'll call you later."

"Alright." Feeling a little guilty for being rude to his brother, Sasuke leaned over and kissed his cheek, something that hadn't happened since he was little. "Bye," he said as he got out of the car and headed up to his floor.

Itachi watched his brother leave, his expression softening a little. It probably couldn't hurt to be a little less harsh with him, but Itachi always found himself going back to reprimanding him for even the smallest things.

* * *

Iruka sighed happily, sipping from a cup of coffee while he watched the news. Little Kashi, as Iruka had finally chosen to call him, was purring contentedly in his lap. The dinner had gone wonderfully. Kakashi had such lively friends, and some were a bit _too _lively for the normally quiet teacher. He smiled as he thought of his and Kakashi's relationship. He was almost thankful that he had contracted such a strange sickness; he would've never met the grey-haired man otherwise. Nearly spilling his hot coffee on the poor kitten, Iruka jumped when there was a knock at the door. "Who in the world is here at this hour?" It was only nine, but Iruka didn't normally have company that late. He knew it wasn't Kakashi, since the man had apparently decided knocking wasn't necessary. Peeking through the small peep-hole, Iruka didn't know if he should answer. A large man in a black coat was waiting on the other side. He nervously opened the door, smiling at the man. "Hello, can I help you?"

"Yes, I need to ask you some questions." The man held out a card as he spoke, giving Iruka a serious look. "My name is Ibiki Morino. I'm a detective."

Iruka inspected the official looking card. "Um, what's this about?" This man was huge, with two deep scars running across his face. He was intimidating to say the least.

"I need to know about your recent illness. Do you mind if I come inside for a while?"

"My...illness? Oh, of course." Iruka stepped aside to let the man in. Was that…what was it called? Sabia virus? Was it such a big deal?

After walking in and taking up most of Iruka's couch, Ibiki continued explaining. "It's only cropped up around laboratories and research facilities until recently, and we've been tracking it for a while."

Iruka sat opposite of him on his worn out recliner. "I see, but I don't work at one, and there isn't anything like that even around here." It was a little disconcerting to know that his virus had possibly come from some lab.

"We've traced it back to some animals, so we're thinking some pet stores got ahold of infected lab specimens. Did you buy any pets around the time you started feeling the symptoms?"

Thinking for a moment, Iruka shook his head. "No, I've had my goldfish for almost a year, and I was just given this kitten- wait! A mouse, I bought a mouse for my class. I'm a teacher. It died only a few weeks after I bought it." He'd never even thought about the possibility of the tiny creature being connected to his illness.

"That'd be it, then. What were your symptoms like at first?"

"Um..." He really had to think, it felt like such a long time ago. "Well, I had a fever, headache and chest pain. I was coughing up a little blood after a while. Around then I got the medication, and my symptoms went away, mostly."

"It seems like your case didn't get as bad as the others. You might have caught it just in time," Ibiki said as he flipped open a notebook and jotted down some notes. "The medication you took was Ribavirin, right?"

"Yeah, I ended up taking it for a little over a month. What do you mean by others? People got worse than me?" He couldn't imagine feeling much worse than he had those few weeks.

"Several people have died. Most of the people we know are suffering from it right now are in later stages of it, so we can't disturb them at the moment."

"Oh...that's awful. I hope I can help you. Hold on." Getting up, Iruka went into the kitchen, and got a box down from the top of the fridge. It was where he kept all his receipts in case he needed to return something. After a few minutes of rifling through the box, he found the receipt for the mouse he had bought and handed it over to Ibiki. "Would this be helpful?"

After reading over the receipt, Ibiki's face broke out in a grin. "Extremely helpful. Thank you, I'll need to keep this."

"That's fine, I don't need it. I had no idea the mouse was infected, I'm not in any trouble am I? And the kids made me bury the little mouse in a shoebox back behind the school. Do you need it, too? Probably not much left by now." What if an animal had dug it up? Would that animal get infected and spread it too?

"I'll need to see where you buried it. You aren't in any trouble, you had no idea it was infected."

"It's buried right by the woods, the kids stacked up some rocks to mark it. Okay, who would do this though? I wonder if the pet shop knew they were infected." He hoped whoever was responsible would be punished.

"There's no telling if they knew. They were probably sold really cheaply to make sure they were disposed of quickly. You've been very helpful, thank you for the information," Ibiki said with a nod as he stood up.

"You're welcome, can I get you anything before you go? You're welcome to come back anytime if you have more questions." Iruka was more than willing to help if it meant that no more people would get infected.

"No thanks, I need to get going. I'll stop by if anything else comes up." With that, Ibiki went back to his car and went on his way, putting his notebook safely in the backseat.

Sighing, Iruka made sure his door was locked before heading off to bed. Who would've known that the virus he contracted would become such a big deal?


	6. Chapter 6

A young lab assistant, Kabuto Yakushi, gripped an envelope tightly as he made his way towards his superior's office. After knocking he quickly entered the room. He stepped up to the desk of the head lab technician, Orochimaru. "I have the latest installment, sir." The ebony haired man was leaned back in his plush chair facing away from his younger employee. Kabuto extended the hand holding the envelope forward.

"I was starting to wonder if you got lost," he said with a laugh, turning to take the envelope. "Those meetings of yours take longer and longer. Is he still asking questions about the research?"

"Sorry, sir," he said with a quick bow. "I answer all his questions accordingly. I suppose I can't blame him since he's gotten us quite a bit of funding already. How was it that we ever managed to enlist the help of such an expert?" It was no secret that the man Orochimaru had come across was something special. That one man had acquired over 75% of their current investors and grant money.

"I have my ways. And yes, he does have the right to ask a few questions. It's just too bad he takes up so much of your valuable time."

"It's alright, I'm all caught up with what I was doing anyway. May I ask how much he was able to get us this time? I'd like to be able to get some more equipment." It always killed Kabuto to have to wait for Orochimaru to open the envelope, but he had learned his lesson about prying. Orochimaru had made sure of that.

"So impatient." He opened the envelope carefully, taking the check out and inspecting it before smirking. "Well, rest assured that we'll definitely be able to get you some new equipment with this. I want this money in our account as soon as possible," he said, handing the check over to his subordinate.

Glancing down at the check in his hand, Kabuto grinned. "He's really outdone himself this time. With this much we might finally be able to get somewhere in our research. I'll deposit it right away, sir." He headed straight to the bank. The teller recognized him and smiled warmly. He followed the normal procedure of filling out the form to distribute the money. 80% of the funds went into the account, 15% went to the wonderful man who obtained the money for them, and 5% went right into his pocket. No one ever noticed.

Standing up as Kabuto left the room, Orochimaru headed down to the laboratory to see how things were progressing. He really had been lucky to come across someone with so many connections that was willing to get funding for them; all this research would've been much more difficult without the proper help. Still, even if he had to fund the whole project himself, he had the utmost confidence that he still could've pulled it off. He would've done every bit of the research himself if he had to. And pushed Kabuto to take on a lot more work, of course. That man was one of his more useful assets, especially with that astounding work ethic of his. And as it was, research on the virus was going _extremely _well.

* * *

Much to Kakashi's annoyance, Naruto and Sasuke were back to normal again as far as arguing went. Thankfully the arguments were hardly ever as serious as they started out being.

After reminding them to focus on their work again, he was looking over his latest patient's chart, already brainstorming possibilities of what the problem could be. After dealing with Iruka's sickness, not much had been able to catch him by surprise lately. Not that he was complaining; he took a lot of pride in being able to quickly diagnose and treat his patients.

"Dr. Hatake?" The young pink-haired nurse approached the doctor with a worried expression.

Turning to look at her, he put the chart down for a moment. "Yeah? Is something wrong?"

"There's a man here to see you," she said as she looked over her shoulder anxiously. "He said he's a detective and wants to talk to you, won't tell me why, though."

"Well that's strange. Don't worry about it, though. Where is he?"

"He's waiting for you in the cafeteria. Do you need me to finish whatever you're doing?" What she _really _wanted to do was follow Kakashi and be the first to spread the gossip.

"That'd be great. I was just looking over Mr. Yukimura's chart. Check on him for me," he said, handing her the chart and walking to the cafeteria.

"Yes, sir." She pouted when he left the up from his cheat sheet of questions to ask, the detective was faced with a grey-haired man. "You must be Dr..." He looked down at the wrinkled piece of paper. "Dr. Hatake?"

"Yup," he answered cheerfully, sitting across from the other man. "You can call me Kakashi. What can I do for you?"

"My name is Genma Shiranui, I'm here on business to ask you about…" He glanced at his paper again. "A guy you treated a while back with the...Sabia Virus?"

"Well it's nice to meet you. I figured someone might come ask me about it sometime, so ask away."

He blinked. Ibiki had told him that doctors hated talking to investigators, but this guy was pretty friendly. "Well...uh. Who got sick?"

"A teacher at a local school. Can't tell you much more than that without breaking patient confidentiality."

"Right, can you tell me how he was treated?" He recited the rest of the questions in his head while he waited for Kakashi to answer.

"By the time he first came here, he was already pretty sick, and all the symptoms pointed to a pretty bad case of the flu, so I ended up treating him for that at first. He started getting worse, so I did some research and ordered him some Ribavirin. He started doing better the first couple of weeks. By the time he finished the medication, he was completely healthy."

"How did you come to the conclusion that it was the Sabia Virus? It's pretty rare isn't it?" Ibiki sure did give him a lot of questions to ask. He wondered if he would have time for lunch today.

"It's very rare. But that patient was just getting worse and worse, and it was the only plausible thing I could find at the time. It matched all his symptoms, even the new ones that came up when I realized it wasn't the flu. I had to at least take a chance on it."

"It's just so strange. I mean, out of all the diseases in the world you found that one? You're a pretty good doctor." He jotted down a few things in the notebook Ibiki had given him.

"I guess I am," Kakashi said with a laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "It took me forever to find it, though."

"There's been a recent spread of the virus in a few isolated places. Most people have died from it." Genma wasn't sure how asking a doctor about all this was going to help them catch anyone, but what Ibiki wanted, Ibiki got.

"That really is strange. It's too bad they didn't get treatment in time."

"Isn't it? It's so weird how none of the other doctors were able to find a cure, or even identify the illness."

"Like I said, I just did a lot of research and got lucky," he replied with a shrug. "Most people probably wouldn't have even considered the Sabia Virus a possibility."

"Then why did you?" Huh, maybe Ibiki was onto something.

"I didn't have a lot of options. I had to try _something_."

"Well alright." He glanced at his paper one last time before smiling at the doctor. "Thanks for your time, Kakashi." He stood up and held his hand out to him.

"No problem," Kakashi said as he stood as well, shaking Genma's hand. "Hope I helped your investigation."

"I'm sure you have. See ya." Picking up the notebook and sticking a toothpick in his mouth, Genma took his leave with a short wave to the doctor.

"Weird guy," Kakashi muttered to himself before getting back to work.

* * *

Genma gave Ibiki a quick call before heading over to the local elementary school. Briefly wondering if he would get in trouble, he snuck around back to the empty playground where he spotted Ibiki kneeling by some trees. "Hey! Ibiki!"

"Not so noisy, Genma," he ordered, not bothering to turn around as he wiped dirt from the lid of the box he had been looking for.

He came up behind the man, looking down over his shoulder. "What's that?"

"This," he began as he picked the box up and rose to his feet, "Is apparently the animal that gave the teacher the virus."

Genma made a face as he looked at the box in his superior's hands. "Ew, there's some dead animal in there? That's just wrong."

"Don't be a wuss. It's just a little mouse."

"It's dead and gross!" Genma whined. "What are we gonna do with it anyway?"

"Have a few tests run on it, you whiner. Did you question the doctor?"

"I am not a whiner." He pouted, chewing on the end of his toothpick. "And yeah, I did." He handed the notebook over to him.

"Good," Ibiki said as he flipped through the pages, quickly skimming over them.

"I didn't really get anything new. He just said he treated the teacher with Ribavirin after he did some research."

"It's still information we need. You did good."

Genma grinned proudly; coming from Ibiki, that really meant something. "Thanks, wanna go out for some drinks to celebrate?"

"A few couldn't hurt," he replied with a grin of his own, heading back to his car. "The usual place?"

"Sounds good," Genma said as he got into the passenger seat. "Hey, am I ever gonna get to drive?"

"Definitely not." Laughing, Ibiki buckled his seatbelt before starting the car and heading to their favorite bar.

Crossing his arms, Genma spit his toothpick into the floor.

* * *

After returning home from his first day back to work, Iruka was exhausted. But he was happy. The second he had walked into his classroom, he was welcomed with a surprise party for his return. The children were so happy to see him and it made his heart swell with pride. Not every teacher would've been missed so much by their students. They really were good kids; nothing had gotten accomplished, though. Class was interrupted several times with questions about his absence. He explained the best he could, but was careful not to say too much. Even after the school day was done, he had to report to the principal's office (which was scary even when you were an adult). There, he had a long talk with Sarutobi. He'd been working there since before Iruka had even attended as a student. He was informed that the detectives had come to remove the diseased mouse from the property, and they assured the older man that the area was free of infection. Iruka was relieved to hear that he was the only to contract the now here he was, lying on the couch with his shoes still on. He was glad to be back home. He decided that he felt far to lazy to cook, and considered calling Kakashi to take him out to dinner. On second thought, he was too tired to go out, maybe he could ask for take-out instead. Where was his phone? He groaned as he sat up and rummaged through his pockets and school bag. "Where is that damn thing…?" Iruka grumbled as he rubbed his eyes tiredly.

Luckily for Iruka, Kakashi had been hoping to make dinner plans, as well. He couldn't stop himself from grinning as he dialed the man's number and listened to the ringing, waiting for him to answer. No matter how many times he got to be around Iruka, he was still always excited about the next opportunity.

"Aha!" Thankful for the convenient call, Iruka peered under the couch for the source of the ringing. "Little Kashi!" To his horror, the mischeivious little kitten had taken it upon himself to steal the teacher's phone and proceed to chew on the antenna. To make matters worse, Little Kashi was a rather territorial kitten, and so every time Iruka attempted to snatch the phone, he was greeted by sharp little teeth and claws. "You brat!" Iruka scolded the kitten like it was one of his students. When the phone vibrated indicating a missed call, it was enough of a distraction for Iruka to free the phone from the kitten's grasp. A bit miffed, the kitten slunk into the kitchen in search of more mischief."Now then," Iruka mumbled to himself as he flipped open his phone. He smiled when he saw that Kakashi had been the one to call him. He immediately called back and held the phone up to his ear.

Answering the call, Kakashi laughed. "Lose your phone again?"

Iruka pouted. He didn't lose his phone _that _often. "No! Your brat of a cat stole it!"

"Now now, don't try to put this off on me. I rescued it with my phone call, so I'm the hero here."

"Uh huh, sure," Iruka huffed. "What did you want to talk about anyway?"

Teasing Iruka really did never get old. It was practically his favorite hobby at this point. "I was wondering if you wanted to get some dinner. And I wanted to tell you about something."

"You read my mind, I'm starving. A room full of twenty 8-year-olds really takes it out of you, you know?" He of course knew Kakashi _didn't _know, but he could at least sympathize. "Tell me what? Oh, and where do you want to eat?"

"Anywhere you want. Do you want me to pick you up? I'll tell you about what happened in person."

"If it's all the same to you, I'd really love to eat here." Iruka hoped Kakashi wouldn't mind a simple dinner at his kitchen table. Usually the grey-haired man insisted on taking him to all these lavish places that Iruka would never have even dreamed of going to on his own.

"If that's what you want, it's fine with me. You sure you don't mind cooking?"

Cooking? Pfft, Iruka's cooking skills barely made it to the level of making cup ramen. "Uh..."

"I'll take that as a no," he said with a laugh. "Need me to make something?"

"N-no!" Iruka would feel terrible if he invited Kakashi over to cook for him, it was bad enough he couldn't cook for himself! "You can just pick up some fast food or something, I'll pay you back when you get here."

"Well alright, but I'm not taking any money from you. I'm sure you can think of other ways to pay me back."

Iruka blushed as Kakashi's voice lowered seductively towards the end of his sentence. "O-O-okay. I'll set the table, then."

"I'll be there as soon as I can, then. Any food requests?"

"Nothing I can really think of. Oh nothing spicy, please." He idly walked into the kitchen, eying the messy table.

"Got it," he replied with a grin, his excitement about getting to spend time with Iruka flaring up again as he headed to his car.

He smiled as he said his goodbye to Kakashi, focusing on fixing up the table for a romantic night of take-out. It wasn't much later when Kakashi walked in (once again forgetting to knock) and headed to the kitchen, putting the bag of food down on the counter.

"Hey," Iruka greeted, walking over to kiss the grey haired man's cheek.

Kakashi turned his head just in time to press his lips against Iruka's and give him a cheeky grin. "Hey. Hope you're hungry."

The other man blushed, crossing his arms and frowning. "I'm starving. What did you get?" Iruka would fuss at him _after_ they ate.

How cute. He loved making Iruka blush. "Chicken wraps," he replied as he sat down. "From that new restaurant downtown."

"Really? I've been meaning to go there." It looked like they really didn't need plates and silverware after all. Oh well, at least the table still looked nice.

"I figured you might like it. The restaurants I usually take you to don't really have the option of take-out."

Iruka sat down across from Kakashi. "You know, you really don't have to take me to such fancy places. I'd be fine with a diner, honestly. I feel bad when I look at the prices." He took a bite from his wrap and licked his lips. He'd definitely have to go check that place out. Maybe he'd take Naruto.

"I just like to spoil you." Picking his wrap up and taking a bite, he smiled as he watched Iruka. "But if you want to eat at other places, I don't mind."

Iruka nearly choked. _Spoil _him? He wasn't sure how that made him feel. He was caught somewhere between flustered and agitated. "I uh, don't really need to be spoiled." He smiled at the man. "You don't need to buy my love. Let's go to simple places now and then."

"If that's what you want. Oh, I almost forgot what I was going to tell you about. An investigator came to talk to me today."

"Really? Someone came to talk to me yesterday, a rather large frightening man, to be exact. Did they ask you about the virus, too?" Why would they need to ask Kakashi questions?

"Yeah, he did ask me about it. Well that's weird, I wonder why someone needed to talk to me if they already got information about it from you."

"I'm not sure, I had no idea this was such a big deal, though." Iruka's expression turned somber. "People have died. You really did save my life, you know."

"The man questioning me seemed pretty suspicious about that, actually. He kept asking why I decided it was the Sabia Virus."

"You worked really hard to find out what I had didn't you? Was he trying to say you had something to do with it?" If he was approached by the detective again, he would make sure to tell them Kakashi had nothing to do with this.

"I did. Who knows what he was trying to say? Either way, I _didn't_ have anything to do with it, so we don't have anything to worry about."

"You're right." Iruka smiled, putting all thoughts of the virus and detectives out of his mind. He was determined to have a relaxing evening with Kakashi.


End file.
